How Long After Drinking Something Acidic Does the Damage Begin?

Posted on 4/10/2018 by Sundberg Office

We're all guilty of it: Drinking acidic drinks is difficult to avoid today. These include drinks like coffee, tea, soda, beer, wine, and even milk. Most of these are drinks that we're unwilling to give up.

However, if you're concerned about the damage these drinks can do, you're not alone. What most people don't realize is how soon after drinking something acidic the damage begins.

Why Does the Damage Begin?

The reason acidic drinks are so bad for your teeth is they cause what's known as "acid erosion." This occurs when your teeth sustain direct contact with the acid in any of these drinks.

It results in the demineralization of your tooth's surface. Dentists recognize this happens when the pH environment in your mouth reaches 5.5.7. or higher.

Obviously, this means that you don't want to sit and continually drink glass after glass of these refreshments. However, there are a few things that will make these drinks react faster to your teeth. One occurs when you also eat acidic foods while drinking an acidic drink.

In other words, you don't want to drink soda and eat pizza at the same time since tomatoes are known to contain a lot of acid.

What Should You Do

You should also make sure that you drink some water after you enjoy an acidic drink. This will help to clear the acid out of your mouth. Make sure you don't brush your teeth right away. In fact, you should wait at least 30 minutes before doing so.

Additionally, you want to make sure that you have enough saliva in your mouth. Not having enough saliva removes the buffering ability for your teeth. When this happens, you'll experience the prolonged retention of extrinsic and intrinsic acid in your mouth. This will also accelerate the erosive process.